N.J. voters prefer state government to be politically divided, poll shows

Amanda Brown/The Star-LedgerNew Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (center) makes his first budget address to a joint session of the New Jersey Legislature.

TRENTON — Voters prefer that state government be politically divided, with one party controlling the governor's office and the other holding the majority in the Legislature, according to a poll released today by Rutgers-Eagleton.

The Rutgers poll found that 54 percent of those asked prefer Democratic control of the Legislature to off-set Republican Gov. Chris Christie's proposals. Only 37 percent want Republicans to be in control.

Members of each party overwhelmingly wanted their own party to control the Legislature. Independents prefer Democratic control of the Legislature by a margin of 48 to 31 percent, with 13 percent undecided.

This year every member of the Legislature will be up for reelection, and Christie has already started pushing for GOP control of both chambers.

Christie said yesterday that he will campaign hard for Republican majorities once election season gets rolling.

"If you give me a Republican legislature, you're not going to believe what's going to happen in New Jersey," Christie said at a town hall meeting in Hopatcong yesterday.

Gov. Chris Christie's brash style deemed 'hot and sexy' at Hopatcong town hallGov. Chris Christie often jokes that the voters of New Jersey didn't elect him for his "charm and good looks," but to take on the fights previous governors shied away from. But one admirer raised eyebrows at a town hall meeting in Hopatcong, Sussex County, when she praised Christie's smarts and tenacious style as "hot and sexy." Amused, Christie quipped that he wanted the woman to write a note to his wife. (Video by Nyier Abdou/The Star-Ledger)

Potentially offsetting the desire by majority to keep Democrats in control of the Legislature, is an opposition to incumbent lawmakers, the poll found. Of those polled, 54 percent would prefer "someone new" as the representative in the Legislature and only 30 percent would vote for the incumbent if the election were today.

“Voters often don’t know their legislators’ names or even party affiliation, leading to this apparently contradictory result,” said Rutgers pollster David Redlawsk. “They do know they want change of some sort, but they also don’t want to give the governor carte blanche.”

Of those polled, 48 percent said they think President Barack Obama should be reelected for a second term, while 39 percent oppose his reelection and 13 percent are unsure.

When Republican voters were asked about their preference for a 2012, more than 40 percent could not name a preference. Of those who did, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (13 percent) edged out Christie (12 percent) and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (11 percent.) Of those Republicans with a favorable view of the tea party, a plurality back Romney, while those with an unfavorable view of the tea party leaned toward Palin.

Redlawsk said the unconventional tea party split is likely the results of the large number of Republicans who did not respond to the question about a 2012 presidential nominee.

The poll of 811 registered voters is weighted with a margin of error of +/- 3.4 percentage points. Conducted Feb. 24-26, the poll included landlines and cell phones.